Animals, Plants and the Weather, Natures Signs :MOD note 121

Su Campu · 02-12-2011 10:31pm

Pangea wrote: »

I did note it as strange as I never heard a fox cry before, never mind so close to the house like that. I remember many people on the forum here noted their pets acting strangely before the snow came too.

I wonder did people think the same in 2000, or 1982, or the 60s, or 1947. Probably not.....

snow ghost · 02-12-2011 10:35pm

Su Campu wrote: »

I wonder did people think the same in 2000, or 1982, or the 60s, or 1947. Probably not.....

Su, believe me the old folks - down this way at least - would have thought much the same and they still do.

I hear such stuff all the time. It is a tradition that has been passed down.

Pangea · 02-12-2011 10:36pm

Su Campu wrote: »

What hurricane? There was no hurricane in England in 1987. Do we have to go through the whole misquoting argument again? There was a fierce windstorm alright, which the models had forecast heading further south than it did. It's a popular thing though to still insist on misquoting him, leaving out the rest of what he actually said, i.e. "but it is going to get mighty windy though...".

Its widely noted that he underplayed the storm with that phrase. The storm did have hurricane force winds. Worst storm in 300 years

Su Campu wrote: »

I wonder did people think the same in 2000, or 1982, or the 60s, or 1947. Probably not.....

Whether they did or not is down to their observational skills, maybe they did note them but didn't attribute it to the particular snow events. Bet your hat that Mr.Postman did though in 2000 as he would be looking out for these things.
If they are happening every year how come we havent seen any strange activity this november like last November? Animals werent preparing for a big freeze thats why.

Kippure · 02-12-2011 10:43pm

Su Campu wrote: »

Low pressure where though? Low pressure here means there's high pressure somewhere else, so overall nothing's changed.

Low pressure here in ireland. So the thickness of the husk would be thinner due to Mild south westerlies for example. High pressure some where else would mean thicker husk, so maybe colder weather. There is a logic to it....:rolleyes:

How did i end up starting this thread... LMAO:D:D:P

goat2 · 03-12-2011 12:29am

Kippure wrote: »

I,ll have to buy some irish onions to find out...:)

i get onions from my neighbour and last year they had thin skins, we had a bad winter, and again this year they have thin skins, so that theory is out the window

delw · 03-12-2011 1:06am

bb1234567 wrote: »

ha saw this thread coming:D

:eek: are you an animal?did you sense it?

Totofan99 · 03-12-2011 2:20am

Pangea wrote: »

Someone was asking about signs earlier
Here is a page for it
http://www.finnvalley.ie/glenfin/weather/creatures.html
Note

The Fox-

On Winter evenings when the fox is heard crying in the distance a heavy fall of snow is forthcoming.

Thats exactly what I heard before the big snowfall last winter

I wouldn't take any notice of that to be honest... It would be a fairly regular occurance to hear a fox crying on a Winter's evening....

Pangea · 03-12-2011 2:28am

Totofan99 wrote: »

I wouldn't take any notice of that to be honest... It would be a fairly regular occurance to hear a fox crying on a Winter's evening....

Everyone has their opinion but I can tell you its not a regular occurrence here, I never heard it before.

Totofan99 · 03-12-2011 2:40am

Pangea wrote: »

Everyone has their opinion but I can tell you its not a regular occurrence here, I never heard it before.

Absolutely... And everyone's entitled to their opinion.... But, at least where I live it is a regular occurence. And if you didn't know what a fox sounds like, it could be fairly terrifying!!:D

Pangea · 03-12-2011 3:14am

Totofan99 wrote: »

Absolutely... And everyone's entitled to their opinion.... But, at least where I live it is a regular occurence. And if you didn't know what a fox sounds like, it could be fairly terrifying!!:D

For sure

, it is a very frightening sound, thought it was a woman wailing in the woods :eek:

martic · 03-12-2011 3:20am

I'm curious as to the figures of people that believe that animals can predict the weather and people who think its complete BS, my question is, the people that don't believe they can predict weather, are they predominantly from urban areas and don't have the same daily experience with wild animals.

BEASTERLY · 03-12-2011 11:22am

Kippure wrote: »

Lets call it the Onion Theory.

That for some reason that its husk grows thicker because of impending cold or its husk is thiner becasue its going to be warmer so it doesnt need that much protection in the ground.....?

Maybe by some sort of magnetic outburst from the sun ( Solar Flares ) that it effects its growing pattern....

So that when the sun has more sunspots theres increased Magnetic outbursts towards the earth so the weather is more mobile ( low pressure )..

And when the sun in a more dorment phase less magnetic outbursts towards the earth so more stable colder weather (High Pressure)...

Yes but this is VERY loose connection. Sunspot activity is only one of thousands of factors influencing a winter. It would be like meteorologists forecasting when the only observations they have is humidity values.

Su Campu · 03-12-2011 11:28am

And why should that rule conveniently apply to just Ireland and not say the mid Atlantic? Why are we the chosen ones?

Derfil · 03-12-2011 11:55am

Pangea

Also he said 2 days before the big tsunami the animals went to the mountains.

Which tsunami was this? Probably the "Boxing Day" tsunami in the Pacific so how does he even know the animals made for the mountains, only he heard it in a documentary. And it wasn't 2 days before, it was only after the earth shook. This only proves the animals felt the earth move and were frightened by it not that they could forecast a tsunami.

Coles · 03-12-2011 12:34pm

Two words can be used to describe many of these forecasting methods - 'Selective Memory'. That's not to say that there isn't truth in many of them, but most should be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

I've heard (and repeated -of course) one particular forecasting method, and I'd be interested in hearing any opinions on it...

"Frog spawn that has been laid in deep water indicates a dry spell of weather."

Su Campu · 03-12-2011 1:03pm

Coles wrote: »

Two words can be used to describe many of these forecasting methods - 'Selective Memory'. That's not to say that there isn't truth in many of them, but most should be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

I've heard (and repeated -of course) one particular forecasting method, and I'd be interested in hearing any opinions on it...

"Frog spawn that has been laid in deep water indicates a dry spell of weather."

Indicates a dry spell of weather IS TO COME or IS OCCURING? I think that if a dry spell is occuring then there is likely to be a lack of fresh water, with extra algae growth in the upper layers of the pond or wherever. This could be a signal that the frogs can pick up, and it might push them to spawn deeper. But as regards predicting a future dry spell? Not so sure about that one....

Pangea · 03-12-2011 1:20pm

Derfil wrote: »

Pangea

Also he said 2 days before the big tsunami the animals went to the mountains.
Which tsunami was this? Probably the "Boxing Day" tsunami in the Pacific so how does he even know the animals made for the mountains, only he heard it in a documentary. And it wasn't 2 days before, it was only after the earth shook. This only proves the animals felt the earth move and were frightened by it not that they could forecast a tsunami.

Heres a link to that covers the tsunami, it doesn't mention the time line like mr.postman did though.

Theres a bit in it about the seattle earthquake, it said animals were freaking out 12 hours before the quake, if they moved because of the the earth shaking then why didn't the humans notice it with all their Seismometers and gadgets.
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Tsunami_Can_Animals_Sense_Disasters.html

this quote from the above link sums up what I was trying to say, its about the st.stephens day tsunami.
"How did they know? The usual speculation is that the animals picked up tremors caused by the under-sea earthquake. This explanation seems to me unconvincing. There would have been tremors all over South East Asia, not just in the afflicted coastal areas. And if animals can predict earthquake-related disasters by sensing slight tremors, why can’t seismologists do so? "

Many Scientists do think that animals have some sort of six sense about these things.
"With very few exceptions, the ability of animals to anticipate disasters has been ignored by Western scientists, who dismiss stories of animal anticipations as anecdotal or superstitious. By contrast, since the 1970s, in earthquake-prone areas of China, the authorities have encouraged people to report unusual animal behaviour, and Chinese scientists have an impressive track record in predicting earthquakes. In several cases they issued warnings that enabled cities to be evacuated hours before devastating earthquakes struck, saving tens of thousands of lives. "

Another interesting link here http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,143737,00.html

gbee · 06-12-2011 7:08pm

When a postman doth lift a plant pot
and find a frog beneath
Garden Centers everywhere doth lose customers
who are afraid of a little sleet

thetonynator · 06-12-2011 11:03pm

The dog was eating grass yesterday, which traditionally is a sign that theres bad weather to come . . .but may also be a sign that the dog has less than average intelligence. :P

Caff Caff · 06-12-2011 11:15pm

thetonynator wrote: »

The dog was eating grass yesterday, which traditionally is a sign that theres bad weather to come . . .but may also be a sign that the dog has less than average intelligence. :P

It is actually a sign that your dog needs roughage and is possibly unwell. The grass will help if the dog has an upset stomach.

Iancar29 · 06-12-2011 11:20pm

I noticed today that the Birds wer having a feeding frenzy out the back today , ( nothing special put out , just the usual )

Now in my mind i just guess that ye... its cold out... they feel it .... they stock up.

Any predicting in that now i wouldnt be sure of. ....

Fishtits · 07-12-2011 12:33am

Read an article recentely about frogs leaving the earthquake zone in Italy prior to the recent quake there, apparentely its suspected that they sensed chemicals released by the Earth below during tremors?

As for the old chestnut that there were no animals killed in the Asian Tsunami of '04 because they all sensed it and had buggered off... Rubbish. I was in Banda Aceh for several months after the event, apart from the 120,000 folk killed, there were also dead animals all over the place, and they weren't tied to a post in a garden...

Deep Easterly · 07-12-2011 1:47am

I remember reading a book called 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Neale Hurston a few years back (great read and I highly recommend) but one particular scene in it stands out for me.

There was a group of people working in a cotton field (if I remember correctly) on a typically hot and humid day in the SE States when suddenly they observed in the distance various animals walking in a single line in a certain direction, which in turn were being followed by a group of native Indians. When asked by the workers why they were following the animals they were told that the animals were heading for higher ground because there was a storm coming. (plot was set in the early 20th century). The cotton pickers were both sceptical and amused and carried on their work.

What followed the next day was a hurricane so powerful that the actual book title is based on it! OK, only fiction but a great scene that I am failing to explain well. I myself am cynical of the whole idea of animals being able to predict the weather but as has been said earlier, those brought up on the land and with animals have much more insight than the likes of me, who's knowledge of animal behavior is based totally on family pet dogs.

nacho libre · 07-12-2011 2:27am

I think it's feasible that some animals are attuned to a frequency we can't tap it into, when you consider just how swallows are able to migrate yearly.
it is also said a dog's sense of smell is so highly attuned that they have be known to detect cancerous tumours in their owners. Might they be able to detect atmospheric changes ahead of human instruments?

perhaps animals can't foretell through their senses what will happen weather wise, but the outright derision of some to that suggestion is unwise- there was a time not so long ago all animals(excluding the humankind) were simply viewed as automatons merely responding to instincts. we've learned a lot about the capabilities of other animals over the last 50 years. i believe they still have a lot to tell us.

pistolpetes11 · 13-01-2012 4:18pm

Ah the Animals and the Weather , Nature Signs thread ,

Where the talk of flying crows/cows/pigs/frogs/, snow bunnies, pressure headaches and the rest calls home

Sponge Bob · 13-01-2012 4:29pm

The most famous of all the Sign Watchers, Michael Gallagher, produced this fairly comprehensive list of signs some time back.

Be an idea to try them in your own area and see.

http://www.finnvalley.ie/glenfin/weather/

cafecreme · 13-01-2012 8:24pm

Thanks for that link Spongebob. I saw a blackbird mooching around on the ditch this morning, according to Michael Gallagher that means snow on the way

up for anything · 13-01-2012 11:38pm

Maybe generations gone by could rely on their animals foretelling the weather because the animals were more attuned to forthcoming weather in those days. Nowadays domesticated animals don't have to worry too much about what's going to happen with the weather because they have lovely sheds/kennels/houses to shelter in. Evolution could be changing their abilities. The average house dog probably figures there's no point in trying to tell anyone that it's going to snow in a months time because the county councils still won't get their asses in gear to get in enough grit and salt.

:D

Icanseethewind · 28-01-2012 9:39pm

I not at all worried about the cold... I still going to let the sheep out ont o the high pastures, plenty of grass after all this lovely mild weather. I can bet my life on it there will be no snow.... some sunny coldish days but pleasant...just the way I like it. The mountain has that dark colur on it again today a sure sign of rain and mildness for the next two weeks... I was talking to neighbour and he a great forecaster and reckons February will be very mild after this cooler air passes and March will be the same.... great news

Icanseethewind · 28-01-2012 9:45pm

rc28 wrote: »

Mods?? You keep making these dramatic sweeping statements and it's not helpful.

Helpful with what?? Sure I or no one else can make the weather happen!!

Animals, Plants and the Weather, Natures Signs :MOD note 121

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